The mac and cheese prepared at Landin’s on Melrose Avenue is a comfort food bargain.

A small, inexpensive restaurant in Melrose is bringing a rich flavor to the neighborhood.

At Landin Mac and Cheese at 705 Melrose Avenue between East 154th and 155th streets, customers can choose from 11 different styles of mac and cheese, along with traditional pizzeria food and Mexican dishes to eat at the tiny counter space or to take out.

Each macaroni and cheese dish comes in four sizes, from the snack-sized mini, to a family portion, which contains about four servings. At $14, the family size mac and cheese is the most expensive, meaning customers on a budget can affordably feed their families a delicious, freshly cooked meal.

“When people think of mac and cheese, they think of the stuff from the box,” said owner Sergio Sanchez. “They don’t expect it to be fresh baked like this.”

Ben Shanahan

Sandwiched between bulkier storefronts, Landin’s is easily missed.

Sanchez and his father of the same name co-own and operate the business. They live in the neighborhood and know exactly what most of their regular customers like. “She’s one who came in and tried it once,” said Sanchez, pointing out an incoming customer.

“Now she eats here almost every day.”

The customer, Jamirah Pagan, has worked at a physical rehabilitation center down the block for a month and a half. Pagan confirmed she eats at Landin’s mac and cheese just about every day.

“I usually get the mini, but today I had to get the small,” she said. “They know me by name, by order, by phone number—you name it. They’ve got me.”

Sergio Sr. first came up with the idea when he was working at S’Macs, a mac and cheese restaurant on 12th street in Manhattan.

“This kind of thing is always in Manhattan,” he said. “I thought, why don’t we just bring this idea to the Bronx.”